Bankura, Nov. 22: Five persons — two women and three children —were killed when a stack of bricks at a kiln collapsed on them in a Bankura village last night.

Brick-kiln workers Menoka Khisku, 28, and Sumitra Tudu, were cooking dinner sitting beside the stack of bricks. Menokas three children — Binanda, 10, Dhananjoy, 8, and Kakoli, 4 — were with them. Around 8pm, the bricks collapsed, crushing the five.

The residents of Brahman Sashon village, which is 200 metres from the kiln, came rushing, alerted by the crash of the falling bricks. Some of the villagers said they heard moans from underneath the rubble. They informed the Chhatna police station, 18km away.

The police arranged for a bulldozer, which arrived around one-and-a-half hours after the collapse. By the time the bricks were removed with the help of the bulldozer, the five had died.

The bodies were badly damaged. The brick stack was 12 feet high, a police officer said. Bankura police chief Pranab Kumar said: Since the stack was not a permanent structure, no cement had been used to hold the bricks together.

No police complaint has been filed yet against brick-kiln owner Tapas Rakshit.

Menokas husband Paresh, who also works at the kiln, said he had brought his family along with him from Purulia after Durga Puja.